Cosmogyral
by Avalonolava
Summary: A series of interconnecting drabbles about a paragon Shepard and her companions throughout the Mass Effect trilogy.
1. It says OCCUPIED

"It says "OCCUPIED"," Garrus pointed out, scratching the back of this head nervously.

"That's just EDI trying to keep you out," Joker explained over the comm. This did little to calm the turian as he stared at the locked door of the women's bathroom.

It had started out as small dares exchanged between himself and Joker over the comm while the Normandy was docked at the Citadel, but had eventually turned into a real competition. Joker had proved himself by stealing a cab and successfully avoiding C-Sec for an hour before returning it to rapid transit undedicated. Now it was Garrus' turn. He should have realized his task would be something as petty as breaking into the Women's Bathroom.

"I don't know, Joker," Garrus replied warily, staring at the locked door. Sniping mercs? Not a problem. Possibly running into Chambers or Gabby in the bathroom? Countless repercussions. Many of which included painful ends, both to his face and his pride.

"Just open the damn door, or admit that I am the most badass member of the Normandy," Joker taunted, knowing very well that Garrus Vakarian wasn't one to give up so easily. "Other than the Commander," Joker added quickly.

Garrus rolled his eyes, bringing his hands up cautiously to the interface to bypass the locked code. As he typed, EDI pipped in over the comm.

"Mr. Vakarian, the men's facilities are on the port side of the ship," she chimed politely, but her tone implied amusement.

"Thank you, EDI. I am aware," Garrus replied, entering the code. The bypass wasn't too difficult which made the turian wonder why Joker thought this was such a great demonstration of Garrus' badassery. Fortunately, he didn't have to wonder much when the doors opened to a showering Shepard.

Upon the doors opening, she had turned to see who had intruded on her bath time letting a small yelp as she covered herself ungracefully with her hands and arms. Garrus immediately turned around, hearing the sound of Joker laughing uncontrollably over the comm, while EDI halfheartedly (if a controlled AI could exult such emotion) scolded the pilot.

"Garrus! _What are you doing_?" Shepard asked, clearly flustered as she turned the shower off.

Garrus was a little flustered himself. Definitely not how he pictured seeing Shepard naked- Not that he often thought of how he _would_ see her naked. She was his commanding officer, and friend.

"I, uh, well," he began, nervously. "Joker and I were challenging one another to have some fun while we were docked, and uh, he-"

"He dared you to go into the girls' bathroom?" Shepard finished, her tone annoyed.

_Shit, shit, shit._ Garrus thought to himself.

"Joker! What the hell is wrong with you?" Shepard shouted, knowingly very well that EDI had patched her into the intercom. All she got in return was Joker's laughter echoing throughout the floor of the Crew's Quarters.

"I'll just, uh… go, then," Garrus announced, shuffling down the hallway to give his commander some privacy.

"EDI, make sure those repairs on the shower in my cabin are fixed _today_." He heard Shepard order as the doors slid closed.

"Pleased, Joker?" Garrus drawled, touching his comm as he spoke. He received rather loud, snorting laughter as a reply.


	2. Can you smell that?

"Can you smell that?" Grunt asked, audibly sniffing the air around him.

"Hm. Scorched meat. Possibly varren." Mordin observed.

"Focus," Shepard demanded, her gun still drawn as she turned the corner.

"How am I supposed to focus when it smells so disgusting?" Grunt asked, his voice displaying his discomfort.

"And here I thought krogan _enjoyed_ roasted varren," Shepard said with an amused grin.

"Funny, Shepard," Grunt deadpanned.

"Hallway clear, Shepard," Mordin announced, lowering his gun as he looked around at their surroundings.

Tuchanka was not as Grunt expected, but it had been everything Mordin expected. Both were left displeased. Shepard's visit had seemed to awaken them all to the effects of the genophage, and it seemed to effect them all differently.

Shepard swore to herself that she would do whatever she could to help the krogan, not out of pity, but out of respect. She couldn't tell how her squad mates were reacting, but she left it alone, knowing very well that they would speak with her with any concerns they had.

"Looks like we've cleared the hospital," Shepard declared, putting away her gun. Her stance became relaxed, allowing Grunt and Mordin to take her lead and put away their own weapons.

"So, should we look for the source of the smell? Or can you two wait until we get back to the Normandy to eat dinner?" Shepard asked cheekily as she started back towards the truck that they borrowed from Wrex.

Grunt made a huffed noise, while Mordin contemplated her words.

"Overexposure to Pilot is resulting in poor attempts at humor," Mordon said, though Shepard could hear the hint of amusement in his voice. Shepard smirked, and continued to led her boys back to the truck.


	3. It Had to be Today

It had to be today. She had to face the past. Her past. Hell, her past life, technically speaking.

Shepard had been surprised at the message she had received that told her the coordinates of the late Normandy. Especially since it was sent to her by the Alliance and _not_ the Illusive Man. For all his talk of information, it was strange to her the things he "didn't" know.

Archangel's identity, Kaidan's mission on Horizon, and now the grave of her crew and her ship. Possibly the place where Cerberus had found her corpse.

The thought of herself as a corpse made her shiver in discomfort. Luckily, none of her crew was in the Kodiak to witness her brief show of weakness. Garrus had insisted his accompany her, if only to set his own mind at ease, but she wouldn't let him. This trip she had to make alone, and find more reason to fight the collectors. Witness the destruction, _her destruction,_ and hold on to whatever feeling, be it sadness or anger, she felt and use it to drive her.

Despite her reasoning, nothing prepared her for seeing the crash for herself. It wasn't too messy, and there were no outward signs that anyone had gone down the with ship, though she knew better. As she walked around the wreckage, she found a few dog tags that belonged to her crew and silently mourned them.

However, silently mourning her crew was not helping the tightness in her throat and chest subside. She knew better; she needed to release all the pent up distress she was desperately trying to bash back into her soul lest it bubble over.

Upon finding her old helmet, she openly cried out. It was more of a shocked yelp than a cry of despair, but it lifted a bit of emotion off her chest. She held the helmet, looking into where her eyes would have been, and had a strange out of body experience that lasted only a moment. Shepard caressed the helmet as if it were a fragile thing, smiling at her actions. If her body and her armor could live through such an assault, what was preventing her from blowing the collectors into a black hole?

_Nothing_.


	4. Scars

"You know, Shepard, with what hell you've been through it's a wonder you don't have a nasty number carved in your face," Zaeed said, leaning back onto the wall of his quarters. Shepard was currently examining his trophies, and had been doing so silently before Zaeed made his observation.

Shepard breathed a laugh, twisting on her feet to face him and away from the krogan helmet that had captured her interest. "I did, but when Cerberus rebuilt me, they didn't keep the scars. Well, other than the few cybernetic scratches that they didn't have time to mend," she explained.

Zaeed cocked his head to the side, clearly intrigued by that fact. "Then what scars did you have?"

Shepard's expression turned nostalgic, and Zaeed was surprised at the change. Mainly she looked like a commander: strong, stern, but had the occasional break when she made a joke.

"I had one here," she traced a small line over her top lip. "And another here," she traced a line on her right cheek. She gave a small smile, almost half hearted. "I got them from Mindoir."

Her eyes didn't water, nor did she look distressed at the topic, but Zaeed could feel the tension. She was good at hiding her emotions, like a commanding officer would, he supposed.

"Well, what doesn't kill you, leaves its mark, eh?" He finally said, shifting against the wall uncomfortably.

To this, Shepard smiled genuinely. "And even when it does kill you, it leaves a mark. Eh, Zaeed?" She mimicked his accent at the end, causing him to laugh.

"Well you and I would know a bit about that," he replied, tipping his head in her direction. Shepard bowed her head, smiling at the mercenary. Shepard was beginning to understand that most of her crew understood her burdens. Everyone of her friends and allies had their stories, and their scars.

Some scars were just more recent than others.


	5. Why does that doll have my face?

"Why does that doll have my face?" Shepard asked, horrified. She pointed at the advert flashing on the wall of the Citadel. Garrus walked over to Shepard, Grunt following at his own leisurely pace.

"You have to admit, they captured your likeness," Garrus said, clearly amused. Shepard glared at him, still pointing at the offending children's toy.

Grunt laughed openly. "The Great Commander Shepard! A doll for girls."

"What am I doing as a doll?" Shepard wasn't even sure she wanted the answer.

"Well, you did take down a reaper that attempted to destroy the citadel," Garrus drawled. Shepard huffed, crossing her arms as the advert continued to play. It turned from showing Shepard's doll, to a the dolls of Garrus and Liara.

"Is that…?" Shepard began, a smile breaking out on her face.

"Oh no," Garrus groaned. Grunt barked out a laugh.

Shepard smirked, nudging him with her elbow. "Aw, it's not that bad Garrus. You have to admit, _they captured your likeness_."

It was Garrus' turn to look annoyed. "I can't wait to see what Liara thinks of this," he said. The advert changed to display the other dolls of the original Normandy crew, children playing with them while a narrator explained who everyone was.

"You would think we would get some kind of royalties for this," Garrus said, torn between his former amusement and his current distaste.

"I would have thought you knew about this," Shepard said, a grin still gracing her features as she looked at him.

"Being a vigilante doesn't really allow time for idle advert browsing," Garrus deadpanned.

"At least they didn't name your doll "Archangel". I doubt the mercs would have been scared of you then," Grunt said, chuckling afterwards.

"Laugh it up Grunt! If we make it through this suicide mission, I bet you 100 credits that there will a plushie version of you up on that wall," Garrus said, gesturing to wall. That shut Grunt right up.

"Hey Commander!" Shepard turned around to find Joker walking towards them. "Guess what I bought at the gift shop?" Joker asked, eyeing Garrus and Shepard with equal amounts of smug amusement.

"Another Fornax?" Shepard taunted, shifting her weight from one foot to the next.

Joker looked down right evil as he took out two figures from his bag. Shepard's expression immediately turned into one of horror. Grunt burst out laughing once again.

"No! You are _not _having those aboard my ship!" Shepard demanded, arms now at her sides, fists clenched.

"_Oh yes_ I am. I even got one of myself. They were nearly sold out of you and Garrus. Apparently you two are the favorites out of the crew," Joker said in disbelief.

"Let me see," Grunt said, pushing Garrus aside to stand next to Joker. He held Garrus' doll in his hand, observing it. "Heh, heh. They even got your eye thing right."

"Okay, shore leave is _over._" Shepard announced, snatching Garrus' doll and stomping off towards the Normandy.

Joker hobbled after her. "Careful with that! I spent good money on Garrus!" Grunt snickered, and Garrus shook his head in mild embarrassment.

Shepard would later place the figurines in her cabin, right next to her model ships.


	6. I'm a bad, bad man, sugar

"_I'm a bad, bad man, sugar._" Zaeed's tone was suggestive, if not overzealous. Shepard smirked, eyeing the merc as he leaned up against the wall of the outpost, blowing on the tip of his gun. Garrus coughed, clearly unimpressed.

Shepard loved bring the two sharpshooters with her on missions. Not only did they watch her back, they offered her banter that kept a sly grin plastered on her face. She wasn't sure what kept Zaeed loyal to her, as he was only hired muscle, but she imagined the repartee had something to do with it. If only for now.

"If we wanted to _seduce_ the mercs, I'm sure you would do just fine Massani," Garrus drawled. He held his sniper rifle in both hands and stood tall, as if on the offensive. Shepard eyed his form silently, as she had been the past few days. She had never thought of Garrus in anyway other than a loyal friend and comrade, but after Kelly mentioned her interest in "comforting" Garrus, Shepard had to reevaluate her feelings. It's not that she felt threatened by Kelly, per se, but Shepard's immediate feeling of jealously did make her confused.

She and Garrus had become close on the original Normandy, but it wasn't romantic in the least. _Did humans even date turians? _She wasn't even sure such a thing was possible, but she had see a krogan and an asari couple back on Illium. If those two species could make it work…

"Damn right I would," Zaeed replied cheekily. Garrus snorted disbelievingly, turning away from Zaeed to face Shepard. Her eyes snapped up to his face, and she felt a faint flush fall over her cheeks. In an attempt to hide her embarrassment, she moved forward towards the exit and spoke.

"Our work is done here. The Illusive Man will just have to be satisfied with the information we got. Let's get back to the Normandy."

"Whatever you say, Shepard," Zaeed replied, pushing off the wall and following Shepard. Garrus eyed Shepard oddly, but she wouldn't meet his eye as she walked past him. He narrowed his eyes, unsure if why she wouldn't look at him, but followed after Zaeed.

Shepard led the way, smiling sheepishly at her own behavior and was thankful that neither Zaeed or Garrus could see her adolescent grin. She felt ridiculous, but at least she also found herself hilarious. She couldn't help her wondering gaze, and now her face betrayed her emotions. She had never felt this giddy around Kaidan.

With Kaidan it was such a mutual fondness, that it felt more causal. Despite this, there was an underlying tone of love. It still stung Shepard that Kaidan dismissed her so quickly upon seeing her again. She knew that in someway what Kaidan was doing is what she would do had she seen a former comrade come back from the dead, but it still sting. A whole hell of a lot more than she had anticipated. A bit late to realize her feelings, she supposed.

"How'd it go?" Joker asked, when the three boarded the Normandy.

"FIne," was Shepard's reply.

"Just as fun as last time, huh?" Joker asked sarcastically, moving his hands around the Normandy's console.

"Running around as the Illusive Man's goons isn't exactly what I'd label as 'fun'," Shepard replied bitterly, coming to a stop behind Joker's chair to look out the windows.

"At least he's paying us," Zaeed said, already headed towards the elevator.

"Yeah, but we get scraps compared to the commission you're getting, Zaeed!" Shepard called. She could hear him chuckling before he walked out of earshot.

"I have no idea why you trust him," Garrus said. Shepard turned around, facing the turian that stood behind her.

"He's proved himself able, plus I doubt he would actually get paid if he killed the Illusive Man's multibillion investment," Shepard replied, crossing her arms.

Garrus hummed, still unconvinced.

"What?" Shepard asked, raising an eyebrow. She had a vague idea of what was irritating Garrus, but better to make him voice his concerns then let him stew all day.

"Nothing. He's just very vocal with his uh, opinions," Garrus replied, though not with the confidence she expected him to have.

"Said something about me to you, did he?" Shepard asked, now amused. Zaeed and she had bantered, but neither party actually wanted to take things to another level. Personally, Shepard found Zaeed a little terrifying, but he would never find out if she could help it.

"Yes," he admitted. "Shepard, I don't know if it's some human custom I'm unaware of, but Alenko never really mentioned you around us."

"He's got a point, though Alenko was kind of a puppy," Joker interjected. Shepard turned her head to look at Joker but he kept his eyes on the console. Shepard turned back to Garrus and smiled.

"Neither one of those things are a human custom. Alenko just didn't speak to people about me, and Zaeed doesn't 'have' me so he's just flirting," she paused. "Aggressively."

"Ah," Garrus said, though not entirely relieved at the explanation. Shepard wondered if he was somehow jealous, but she couldn't tell. Turian expressions were harder to read than her fellow human and asari crew mates'.

After about a few moments of awkward silence, Joker looked over his shoulder.

"Are you two just going to stand here all day in stoic silence, or actually tell me where I should set our next course?" Shepard shifted to face her pilot, feeling that faint blush creep back across her face.

"Set a course for Omega. We need to restock," Shepard said.

"Oh I know what I'm restocking," Joker said smugly.

Shepard shook her head, both amused and disgusted at that implications of that statement, before brushing past Garrus and heading for her quarters.


	7. Reunited

_Takes place during Mass Effect 2, and we're backtracking a little._

"Shepard, I really suggest we get the Professor first," Miranda said, and despite her words, her tone was more a command than a suggestion.

Shepard rolled her eyes, walking over to the Batatarian that would take them to the firefight. Miranda wasn't all bad, Shepard had decided, but she was still being a pain in the ass. Shepard hoped that Miranda would loosen up once she realized that Shepard didn't plan on quitting the mission until the collectors were stopped.

Shepard's other squad mate, Zaeed, was proving to be both a good shot and good at only speaking when he had something important or humorous to say. Definitely a relief after meeting Jacob and Miranda and their hard loyalty for Cerberbus.

After taking the shuttle to the rendezvous point, the three set out to learn as much as they could about the game plan, sabotaging a few mechs along the way. Shepard wasn't too excited to get this "Archangel"; he sounded a bit too vigilante for her tastes, but meeting the sod wouldn't hurt. Plus, if he turned out to be more trouble than he was worth, she could take care of him herself. Which is why they needed to get to him first before these blasted mercs, but Shepard was feeling pretty confident that they would be able to delay them from killing Archangel out right.

Which is how she, and her companions ended up behind the first wave of distractions. And how they were suddenly the monkeys in the middle, bound to be shot by either Archangel or the mercs, if the mercs payed attention that is. Suddenly Shepard was shot back, not once but twice.

"My shields are down!" She shouted at Miranda and Zaeed who bolted on ahead of her. She looked up and saw Archangel sitting up, his sniper pointed directly at her.

Bastard. They seemed to just be concussive rounds, but they still jolted her body and gained her attention. When she fought the mecs back on the Cerberus station, she had been working on instinct (not to mention adrenaline), but now she was willingly walking into the line of fire and that fear of dying suddenly pulsed forward and she froze.

Logically she knew that if she just stormed ahead he couldn't blow her head of, but fear had her feet planted on the ground and had her staring directly into his helmet. He nodded quickly before ducking behind his cover and Shepard exhaled. She shook her head to rid herself of the moment and powered through to the base, slipping back into her soldier stance.

What was it about staring into the barrel of that sniper rifle that had her spooked?

Miranda and Zaeed quickly took care of the freelancers, and the three made their way to the upper level, guns drawn on the Turian.

"Archangel?" Shepard called out. He didn't turn around, instead he held up two fingers signaling for her to wait. He took one last shot, before getting up from his defensive position, walking slowly towards her. He took off his helmet, placing it on a nearby crate and finally hopped up on some other crates that had been stacked on top of each other. He made himself comfortable finally turning his head towards her.

Shepard's heart soared at the sight of him.

"Shepard," his voiced was strained. "I thought you were dead." He nodded to her, apparently relieved at the sight.

Shepard grinned, laughing out in relief. "Garrus!" She moved closer to him, raising her arms as if to hug him, but stopped herself from falling onto him. "What are you doing here?" Her tone implied a meeting of old friends on a random moon, not a reunion in a surrounded bunker.

"Just keeping my skills sharp," he replied. "A little target practice," he attempted to joke. The strain of exhaustion was evident in his speech.

"You okay?" Shepard asked softly. Garrus looked to her oddly for a moment, before answering.

"Been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face. Killing mercs is hard work." He paused, and looked down. Shepard could see the grief playing out on his features, and was struck by it. Firstly, when did she become an expert on Turian facial expressions, and secondly, why was he grieving?

She decided to deflect. "Since when did you start calling yourself "Archangel"?" She asked, eyeing him playfully.

'It's just a name the locals gave me for… all my good deeds," he laughed, looking directly at her. "I don't mind it, but please… It's, uh," he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Just Garrus to you." Shepard reminded herself to call him that later, if only to make him blush. Do Turians blush?

When she asked him why he was on Omega, he answered much like she imagined he would. It didn't feel like two years had passed, but clearly Garrus had changed, however his motives had not. She tried to picture him in green, and sporting a hat. Robin Hood of the Milky Way. She suppressed a giggle.

"You know, you nailed me good a couple times, by the way," Shepard said, with subtle tones of flirtation. She rolled her shoulders and neck, hearing a confused noise come out of Miranda's mouth. She didn't miss the confused grin that appeared on Garrus' face.

He looked away, appearing aloof. "Concussive rounds only. No harm done." He looked back to her. "Didn't want the mercs getting suspicious." Shepard smirked.

"Uh huh," she crossed her arms, jerking her hip on as she leaned to one side.

"If I wanted to do _more_ than take your shields down, I'd have done it." He replied, and this time with more apparent sensuality than Shepard expected. He didn't look away from her, trying to gage her reaction. She looked to him surprised, but pleased. "Besides, you were taking your _sweet_time. I needed to get you moving."

Shepard almost didn't know to respond. How the hell did this conversation become so sexually charged? She and Garrus never spoke like this on the old Normandy. Not that she wasn't enjoying it. Perhaps she was just relieved to see a friendly face. She wondered how he felt seeing her after two years of her being dead. However, she didn't have much time to think on it before they got straight to business.

They had three merc gangs to deal with, and naturally they were going against the odds.

Closing the shutters proved easy enough, but once the Blood Pack entered the base, things got a little tricky. Shepard found she much preferred Krogans being on her team, rather than facing them. Charging Krogan Warlords are _not_ one of Shepard's favorite things. And if things couldn't possibly get any worse, they had an airship aiming at them now. The Blue Sun's leader, Tarak, aimed right for Garrus who had dove to cover at precisely the right moment.

Shepard exhaled, turning from her cover nearby and nearly shouted at Garrus when he looked around the corner, ready to shoot the airship where it would disable it. Garrus then dove out of cover, but was unable to shoot in time before Tarak bombarded him with a few rounds of the airships bullets. Shepard yelled for Garrus, crawling haphazardly towards him.

"Shepard, what are you doing?!" Miranda shouted from her cover, clearly pissed at the Commander's lack of sense. Shepard looked down at Garrus, who was still breathing. Shepard felt relieved, but mostly angry as she heard the warship fly past the window. She narrowed her eyes and switched out her pistol for her grenade launcher which she shoot quickly and without blinking, taking the warship out within seconds. She threw the spent heavy weapon away, crawling back over to Garrus, her hands on his hip and chest, turning him towards her.

"Garrus?" She whispered. He inhaled loudly, his eyes opening for a brief moment, before fluttering closed once more. He was conscious, but barely. His hands gripped his sniper rifle, and turned into Shepard's embrace before promptly blacking out.

"Don't you dare die on me you bastard," Shepard ordered.

"I don't think he's going to make it, Shepard," Zaeed said gently. She glared at him, her hold on Garrus tightening.

* * *

Seeing him walk through the doors of the Briefing Room, simply a bandage covering his wounds relieved Shepard so much that her smile wouldn't leave her face. Jacob eyed her oddly, having not seen his Commander so blatantly happy before.

"Nobody would give me a mirror," he pointed to her as he strode into the room. "How bad is it?" He stopped once he got past the room's doors.

Shepard's smile turned into a smirk. "Hell Garrus, you were always ugly. Just slap a little face paint on there and no one will even notice." Garrus immediately laughed, his mandiables flaring out and twitching at the pain that must have flared up at the movement.

"Ah! Oh, don't make me laugh. Damn it, my face is barely holding together as it is." Garrus walked towards her, keeping a safe _sociable _distance between them. "Some women find facial scars attractive," he drawled, that suggestive tone returning to his voice. Shepard nearly flushed, still aware of the third party in the room.

Garrus made up for that fact without missing a beat, turning his meaning into something comical. "Mind you, most of those women are Krogan." He looked towards Jacob. Shepard looked down, still grinning as she shook her head their conversation.

Jacob seemed to get the hint and saluted his commander, who hadn't looked back over to him, and left without a word.

Garrus looked at her, apparently deciding on how to continue the conversation. He opted for the serious talk, which Shepard fell into without pause.

Just like old times? _Yeah, with a little sexual tension, _Shepard mused.


	8. Zaeed's Observations

"So, you knew Archangel from before?" Zaeed casually asked, as Shepard eyed him suspiciously. "Interesting…" He smirked at her, looking briefly to Garrus then back to Shepard.

"What's that tone meant to infer, Mr. Massani?" Shepard questioned.

Shepard was leaning casually against the wall, near the kiosk that Garrus was currently browsing. Even with her laid back demeanor, her tone was challenging the merc. That, and the way Shepard kept looking at the turian, only made him want to continue speaking of his observations about her and Garrus.

"It's meant to infer that you and Robin Hood over there seem real cozy with one another," Zaeed spoke plainly, and nodded his head towards Garrus.

Shepard promptly blushed and pushed off the wall she had been leaning on. "We've known each other a long time. That's all," she explained, clearing her throat in a poor attempt to seem casual.

"Right," Zaeed smirked.

Shepard was many things, but coy and flustered wasn't among her usual traits; Needless to say, it amused the merc.

* * *

A/N: This is so short, but I like it. It's a kind of party banter, and that is one thing I want more of in the Mass Effect series.


End file.
